Computer systems are commonly used to register or otherwise acknowledge the presence, transfer or arrival of an item, an object, a person or a thing. For example, computer systems may be used to acknowledge an influx of luggage or passengers at an airport, a receipt of packages at a shipment facility or a return of a book at a library. Such systems may be connected to a network and/or one or more database or data store, and may include any number of peripherals for receiving entries of data or information from users.
One common manner in which items, objects, people or things may be registered with a computer system is through the use of a scanner or reader, which may be configured to acknowledge or optically recognize text, numbers or other identifiers (e.g., a one-dimensional bar code or a two-dimensional quick response bar code, or “QR” bar code) that may be printed, written, affixed, marked or otherwise associated with an item, an object, a person or a thing. Scanners or readers may be used in any number of environments or facilities such as train stations, shopping centers or warehouses, where such scanners or readers may optically scan, read or otherwise evaluate a train ticket, an item to be purchased, or a shipment of items that has arrived or is scheduled to depart.
Originally associated with large, fixed consoles or machines, scanners or readers are now typically associated with handheld computing devices taking the form of guns or other grippable machines. In a fulfillment and distribution center, where items may be received from external sources, placed into storage, packed into containers, prepared for delivery to a customer and/or shipped to the customer, workers may use a scanner or reader to interpret bar codes, text or numbers printed on an invoice, shipping label, tag or container. For example, a worker may be provided with a list of items to be retrieved from the fulfillment center, and may use a handheld scanner or reader to acknowledge his retrieval of each of the items, or his delivery of the items to an ultimate destination. The worker may locate an item, hold or grip the item in one hand, identify an identifier affixed or labeled thereon, and use the handheld scanner or reader to scan the identifier with the handheld scanner or reader.
Despite the efficiencies that may be theoretically achieved through the use of computing systems in general, and of handheld scanners or readers in particular, when registering or acknowledging the presence, transfer or arrival of items, objects, people or things, the actual use of such systems or devices may result in some unexpected or undesired circumstances. For example, a worker's manual use of a handheld scanner or reader to identify items typically requires the worker to stop his or her motion, to place an item in a field of view of the scanner or reader with one hand and to command the scanner or reader to capture an image of a portion of the item with another hand. The break in motion, and the described events, must be repeated for each and every instance in which an item is to be recognized. Additionally, because handheld scanners or readers are operated by hand, such devices may be easily broken, misplaced or surreptitiously obtained by unauthorized personnel. Moreover, much of the mass of a handheld scanner or reader is devoted to plastic or other materials comprising grips or supports about which users may handle and manipulate such devices. For at least this reason, handheld scanners typically weigh two pounds or more.